14 — 
7. La note Suivante est adressee au Secretaire, de la part 
de M. Daniel Ilanbury, Membrc correspondant de la Soeiete : 
The IWEadagascar Cardamom, or Longrouzc. 
by da>'ii:l iiaubury, r.u.s. 
“ In several works on Materia Medica published within the 
last fifty years, (1) mention is made of a Madagascar Cardamom 
the fruit of a Zingiberaeeous plant called Amomum angmlV'o- 
litun. Sonnerat the author of this botanical name, was a 
French traveller who visited Madagascar in the second half of 
the last century. Among the plants of that island which he 
described (2) was the species in question, which lie thought 
he identified with the Great Cardamom of ancient writers, a 
drug we now know to have a very different origin. The name 
Grand Cardamome had. however, been given to it more than a 
century before by Flaccourt (3) another explorer of Mada- 
gascar. Both Flaccourt and Sonnerat state that the plant is 
known as Longouse, and the latter adds that it has been intro- 
duced into the Isle of France where it thrives well. The fruit 
is described as a scarlet colour, filled with a white pulp of 
pleasant acidulous taste, in which are imbedded numerous, 
spicy, brown seeds. The plant is said to grow in great plenty 
in marshy places, but no mention is made of the fruits being 
ever collected for the purposes of commerce. 
“ In 1851, Mr. Emile Fleurot of Mauritius contributed to 
the Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society specimens and 
drawings of the Longouze, which is now apparently wild in that 
I sland. They were labelled, in accordance with Bojer's Hortus 
Mauri/ iamts (4) Amomum nemoro-mm, under which name they 
were not recognised as Sonnerat’s plant. It appears however 
that this A. nemorosum Bojer is but a synonym of A. angusti- 
folium, Sonnerat with which in fact the specimens communicat- 
ed by Mr. Fleurot entirely agree. The plant is still claimed 
in Mauritius to be the Grand Cardamome de Madagascar. (5) 
(1) Fee, Cours d'Hist Nat. Pharmaceutiquc, I [1828] 361; Gui- 
bourt, Hist, des Drag. II. [1849] 216 ; Martigny Encylclopf.die d. wed. n. 
pharm. Rohwaarenkunde, II. [1854] 771 ; Berg. Phalm. Wa are nk unde. 
1864.425 ; VV iggers, Handbacd d. Pharmacognosie, 1864. 176 ; Henkel, 
Haabuck d Pharmacognosie, 1860. 382. 
(2) Voyage aux hides Orientates et ala Chine, II. [1782] 242. pi, 137. 
3 Histoire de la grande lie de Madagascar, Paris 1G58. 126. 
(4) Maurice, 1837. p. 327. 
(5) L. Bouton, Medicinal Plants growing * in Mauritius, 1857. p. 152 
